The Grey Pearl (Of Caladuin: Volume Two)

22

The rowing boat may as well have been a dead leaf as Caladuin and Tathariel heaved on their oars between the breakwaters. As it pitched and rolled, spray cascaded over the bow, soaking them through.

Tathariel tried to blot out the throbbing pain in her thigh and looked up at the stars. "To starboard," she shouted above the roar of wind and sea. "The fire will send timbers out of the cavern like a barrage of arrows."

Caladuin continued rowing; he didn't seem to know which side was starboard.

"Starboard, Cala! Eastward!"

Caladuin rested and she pulled on her oar until the boat was heading along the coast. They struggled with the swell that was now battering the side of the boat and several times they had to pause to prevent the boat from capsizing. After a while, any light from the cavern was reduced to a pale smudge among the grey waves.

"Those kegs must be about to — " Caladuin was interrupted by a deep boom. A dozen times louder than an overhead thunderclap, it was. Tathariel saw a cloud of dust and debris billowing out of the cavern, a filthy cloud that seemed to be aflame from within. An entire army of Balrogs could not have made such destruction.

"Keep rowing," she yelled.

The boom continued as a low rumble and Tathariel felt the boat rock. A blast of warm air seemed to slam into them.

"Did you feel it?" she called out.

"From the fire!" As they rowed, the rumbling grew louder and the hillside above the cavern seemed to squirm and shift. "The mountain is coming down!"

They yanked on the oars, watched as the side of the hill slid into the sea. A crater started forming above Amlug's hidden fortress. As the boat tottered and rose to the crest of a wave, Tathariel caught a glimpse of the shoreline. A pale band of surf had formed and a wave seemed to be advancing towards them against the wind. "Hard to port," she cried, and dug her oar in. "Pull, Cala!"

The boat yawed and she started heaving again when they were heading into the swell. They could see the wave growing and spreading as they pulled hard on the oars. It wasn't much but it was enough to tip the boat if it hit them at the wrong moment.

And that is what happened.

As the boat sank into the trough from a sea swell, the wave from the island crashed over them. Tathariel lost her grip on her oar and was wrenched from her seat and across Caladuin's legs. A hot line of pain slashed across her thigh as the dirty sea water drenched her. Then her senses were turned upside down as the side of her head cracked into the gunwale. Caladuin tugged at her dress then at her arm and soon she was kneeling in the bilges, her hair masking her face. With his help, she pulled herself back onto her seat.

"My oar!"

"We lost it!"

Caladuin's hair was plastered over his ears and there was a rivulet of fresh blood issuing from his forehead. He was trying his best to keep the boat steady. A deep pool of brown water sloshed around their ankles.

"We need to bail out!" she shouted.

"With what?" Another swell pushed them up and they were again broadside to the waves.

"Here," she said, rising. "Let me bring her about again."

But it was too late. As the boat dropped into another trough it lurched sideways. The remaining oar swung sharply and hit her just above her knife wound. She yelped and a gurgled scream bubbled from her mouth as she was plunged into the angry sea. She twisted round, trying to find the surface before kicking her legs towards the stars.

When she surfaced, she found the capsized boat bobbing in the swell. She swam clumsily towards it, grunting with the pain of her injuries and the cold of the sea. When she could touch the hull, she felt along the gunwale and found cool metal. She pulled her knee up and poked her foot into the rowlock then tried to push herself up but her foot slipped and she fell away from the boat.

After she'd found the rowlock again, she wrapped her fist around it and threw her other arm over the hull, resting her head. Her hair spread out, glistening like wet seaweed.

All she wanted to do was to sleep.

She shook her head with a start. "Cala!" she calledout. "Caladuin!"

No answer but for the roaring sea.

"Caladuin!"

There was a muffled moan somewhere in front of her. Was he still inside the boat?

"Caladuin. Where are you? I am coming to you."

Her hand was going numb as she gripped the rowlock. She glanced along the hull, expecting Caladuin to appear at the bow or the stern. But then the sounds of his exertions became clearer and his head appeared above the keel.

He crawled towards her and reached out. "Take my hand."

She pushed down on the rowlock and reached out for his hand, felt his cold hard fingers wrap round her wrist. He pulled her up and they sat on either side of the keel. They wrapped their arms around each other, breathing hard, shivering in the wind. She pressed her hand against the bloody patch of dress that marked her knife wound then looked away to the bright north. Soon, Helluin would sink below the waves.

"I will make a mariner of you yet, Cala."

"I look forward to it, friend."

She felt his huge arm around her bare shoulders and he looked up into his face. "You lost your bow." Then her eyes became heavy and the back of her head seemed to swirl.

The world became dark.